FRM Newsletter
June 2023 Dreadnought, Surrounded By Rebels
View Full June 2023 Newsletter
Last month, I shared about starting a new organization to rescue believers and persecuted people around the world. If the Lord wanted to confirm this, He did not wait long. When war broke out in a Hot Spot, two different army groups were fighting one another for control of the country. Within 48 hours, we received over 30 requests from organizations asking us for help in getting people out. Truthfully, I do not even know how these organizations knew about us because we are pretty much only known within Calvary Chapel, or so I thought. Within 48 hours, we had boots on the ground, consisting of private contractors we used in other Hot Spots. We will call this new arm of Far Reaching We will call this new arm of Far Reaching Ministries Dreadnought–Jehovah Sabaoth. The meaning is basically the Lord of heaven’s armies fear nothing. In 1906, the British Royal Navy launched a revolutionary new fleet of warships showcasing steam-turbine propulsion engines for speed and an all-big-gun armament scheme. The first of its kind was known as HMS (His Majesty’s Service) Dreadnought. The design was so effective and efficient that Germany also developed their own fleet of dreadnoughts, and the two nations competed. The change the dreadnaught brought to battleships was so significant that all earlier ships were known as pre-dreadnoughts. Within five years, successive design brought improvements in armor, armaments, and propulsion to a new fleet called super-dreadnoughts. The Lord brought to my mind the image of the dreadnought and the power of the heavenly armies. May God enable us to launch a new efficient, effective, edifying force of rescuers and protectors that can save many lives!
A U.S. Delta Force team rescued embassy staff and their families; in this Hot Spot however, many other stranded American citizens were left behind and told to shelter in place. We learned of four young girls who were traveling and doing humanitarian- aid work and of a South American family who was separated by the violence (The mother and father were in one part of the city with no way to reach their teenage girls who were stuck in a building surrounded by fighting rebel forces). We quickly organized for our team to get all eight individuals to a safe house and began working on a plan to get them to permanent safety. Our team coordinated with other groups to extract 120 people and assist in many more rescues. While every other western country has facilitated evacuations for all their citizens the U.S. continues to give no response to the calls for immediate rescue, nor do they place any priority on evacuation solutions. A highly trained commander working in the region was extremely frustrated by the current administration’s lack of regard for innocent lives and called to offer Far Reaching Ministries (FRM) any assistance possible. He told us to call with the names of American citizens and/or innocent people in danger, and his team would make them a priority. I appreciate the courage he displayed. What good is it if you have the ability to make a difference and are in the right place at the right time, but the directives that are given violate every part of your being.
In addition to the recent developments in Hot Spots around the world, we dealt with precarious rescue operations in other Hot Spots. We saw many organizations rescuing people but without the proper documents to do so. Without the proper documents, if person is caught in other countries, they were deported back. Many young women were forced to work in the sex trade or be sent back to their country for certain death. At FRM, we have chosen to procure the necessary legal documents (passports, visas, etc.) so our team and those they rescued could move quickly and efficiently across international borders. Each of these objectives took extensive planning, intelligence networks, and money to accomplish. In essence, we have built a modern-day underground railroad system to bring these hunted citizens to freedom. Early on, we discovered the best way to build continuity into our system was to always have alternate plans in place. We had a network to rescue and maintain our refugees in safe houses. Then we had another network tasked with getting passports processed. Remember, the Nonstate Armed Groups and State Armed Groups essentially close down government services, so this was all done under secrecy for the need of protection. And each of these had redundant networks are ready so we can continue rescuing people relentlessly hunted for. Out of necessity, we quickly built a complex underground railroad system.
The most challenging task was finding countries willing to accept refugees permanently. Sadly, many nations had little or made no provision for them. This includes the United States, which still has over 400,000 unopened applications for those who are eligible for special-issued visas as a result of their work with the U.S. government or military. In many cases, husbands were successfully granted visas while their wives and children were denied, leaving them victims at the hands of the cruel regime, focused on exacting revenge.
In the very beginning, one European Union country was willing to resettle 990 refugees, promising each full citizenship, medical care, housing, rehabilitation, and support. We found a company willing to pick them up and transport them on three flights, but the cost would be $3,500 per person. Another South American country offered to help, but transportation was estimated at $7,500 per person. This w as just for the flight, not including passports. The whole situation was new to FRM, and we calculated our cost of rescuing each person to be somewhere between $4,500-$7,500.
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, all our plans were immediately altered. Suddenly, 8.1 million Ukrainian refugees poured into Europe. Countries that were previously willing to take refugees now were inundated with a new refugee crisis, forgetting about other refugees. We were in contact with a new airline company to fly three aircraft with about 330 people in each plane. We had assurances from other countries that we would be allowed to land the planes, and the people would be given asylum and a new life. But no matter what they had said previously, they just would not sign off and let us land the planes. So, after months of planning, we realized that this option would not be viable, and we abandoned the operation.
God truly does work all things together for good. We continued to work for permanent solutions, and against all odds, we found a solution and spent just under $2,500 per person to rescue them. In addition, we plan to give each family $2,500 to assist them in rebuilding their lives. Though this does not seem like a lot, it can help them to build a small business and survive. I want to share just a few stories that represent the 1,875 people that you have helped rescue through your prayers and generosity.
On August 26, 2021, the N. family stood at the Kabul airport gate waiting to get inside and, on a U.S., evacuation flight when a bomb exploded near them. Unable to reach the gate, they were left with no other option than to return home. The wife had been a prosecutor, and the husband had worked with U.S. interests–making them both highly sought targets. FRM received a call to assist them, and we immediately moved them to a safe house, where they remained until November 2022. We were able to secure their visas and moved them again. Finally, on April 5, 2023, this dear family landed and were welcomed to their new home in the United States. With tears streaming down their faces, they said, “Without FRM helping us, we would most likely have been tortured and killed. This is a debt too big to repay. All we can say is thank you.”
The S. family’s father had been killed by Non-State Armed group. Their 13-year-old daughter, an important prize for a 50-year-old Non-State Armed group leader who wanted to take her as a child bride. When we learned of the family’s situation, we immediately put them in a safe house. It took 10 months for us to move them through our underground network. Mrs. S. weeps with gratitude for saving her life and especially for rescuing her daughter from the enslavement of marriage by force, equivalent to a sentence of rape by a terrorist.
Over the course of the last five months, we have received calls from organizations in dangerous countries around the world asking for assistance and advice in evacuating staff. Dreadnought Jehovah Sabaoth will leverage experience, capabilities, and networks to ensure that we can assist the persecuted, in their greatest hour of need.
For those who are newer to FRM, the first 23 years of the ministry, we were known for training chaplains for the South Sudan Army. Every Sunday that I traveled, I would share about the work. Over the years, we have trained over 500 chaplains, with 71 killed in the war serving Christ. In actuality, that means that one in every seven men we have trained has been killed serving the Lord. The photos in this newsletter are of the work of the chaplains.
If I were a billionaire, I would want to pay the rent or mortgage for every single or abandoned mother who, lack a husband’s provision, so they would not have to be worried and afraid. I would want to make sure every poor family had a hot meal on the table at night so they
would be able to sleep with a full stomach. I would offer shelter to every young girl that has been abandoned so she would not be used by evil men. I was speaking in Idaho this weekend, and while driving through Spokane, I drove past a homeless girl that looked like she was 16 years old. She looked miserable, alone, and scared. Later, I looked for her but could not find her, but I am planning to schedule another church so I can go and look for her again. I do not know the circumstances of her life that got her there, but I want to see if she can be helped and feel God’s love. For some, this might seem extreme, but Jesus talked about leaving the ninety-nine to find the one. And I believe that when the Lord speaks to your heart about someone needing to be rescued or to find a home for a lost girl, it should be the norm, not the exception. I am not a billionaire, but my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. And I pray that He opens heaven so we can rescue all those who are abandoned and in trouble to demonstrate God’s love by living out His Word and going the extra mile to show others by our actions that we are followers of the Messiah.
Wes Bentley
Far Reaching Ministries